- APFILE: In this July 2008 photo, a U.S. ship arrives in the port of Nampo, North Korea, carrying 37,000 tons of bulk U.S. wheat.
As its population suffers widespread malnutrition, North Korea
has agreed to suspend uranium enrichment and put a moratorium on
nuclear and long-range missile tests in exchange for 240,000 metric tons
of food and the promise for potentially more to come.
U.S. State Department announced Wednesday
that after two days of talks in Beijing last week the North has agreed
to allow International Atomic Energy Inspectors to verify and monitor
the moratorium on uranium enrichment and confirm disablement of its
nuclear reactor at Yongbyon.
- In this undated image made from KRT video, North Korea's new young leader Kim Jong Un, third from right, watches jet fighters with North Korean officials at an undisclosed place in North Korea.
"To improve the atmosphere for dialogue and
demonstrate its commitment to denuclearization, the DPRK has agreed to
implement a moratorium on long-range missile launches, nuclear tests and
nuclear activities at Yongbyon, including uranium enrichment
activities. The DPRK has also agreed to the return of IAEA inspectors to
verify and monitor the moratorium on uranium enrichment activities at
Yongbyon and confirm the disablement of the 5-MW reactor and associated
facilities," spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.
Calling the agreement "important, if
limited, progress," Nuland said in return the U.S. will work to finalize
details for a proposed package of 240,000 metric tons of food aid "with
the prospect of additional assistance based on continued need."
North Korea issued a similar, although
differently worded statement released simultaneously in Pyongyang. An
unidentified spokesman from North Korea's Foreign Ministry said in its
statement carried by the state-run news agency that the North agreed to
the nuclear moratoriums and the allowance of U.N. inspectors "with a
view to maintaining positive atmosphere" for the U.S.-North Korea talks.
Last week's talks were the first
negotiations since Kim Jong-Il's death in December from a heart attack.
His son, Kim Jong-Un, succeeded him.
"The U.S. still has profound concerns, but
on the occasion of Kim Jong-Il's death, I said it is our hope the new
leadership would choose to guide the nation to a path of peace by living
up to its obligations. Today's announcement is a modest first step in
the right direction," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.
"This is just one more reminder that the world is transforming around us," she added.
The deal comes amid long unsettling reports
from the highly secretive nation that show a majority of its 24.5
million population is so hungry, grass is a staple.
The country suffers massive shortages in
resources, most of which go to the military. Chronic food shortages are
exacerbated by a lack of arable land, poor soil, insufficient
fertilizer, collective farming practices and barely any tractors or
fuel.
Conditions have been abhorrent for decades,
with the United Nations saying about 6 million -- one-quarter of the
people in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea -- are facing
starvation. After an especially difficult winter in 2011, the U.N. World
Food Program launched an emergency operation to make up for a decline
in humanitarian assistance and the country's own decision to buy only
limited purchases of food staples.
Before the elder Kim's death, the two sides
had appeared close to reaching agreement on the U.S. providing
"nutritional assistance" to needy women, children and the elderly, and
North Korea freezing its uranium enrichment. Such a freeze was meant to
lead to six-nation aid-for-disarmament talks that North Korea withdrew
from in 2009.
North Korea requested aid from the U.S. and
other nations in January 2011, and as recently as Monday, Nuland said
the request for food would be judged purely on the basis of need and the
ability of the U.S. to monitor its distribution because of concerns
that aid could be diverted to the military.
But while the U.S. has denied a quid pro quo
between food aid and nuclear disarmament, on Tuesday, a top U.S.
military officer in the Asia-Pacific told a Senate committee that U.S.
conditions for providing food aid could be exchanged for international
inspection of Yongbyon and other negotiations echoing the deal.
Adm. Robert Willard, chief of U.S. Pacific
Command, said conditions under discussion include "cessation of
nuclearization and ballistic missile testing, and the allowance of the
IAEA perhaps back into Yongbyon."
Hearing the deal, Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.,
slammed the administration for "actively reneging on its assurances that
it would not provide any financial incentives or food aid to North
Korea in exchange for dubious commitments of cooperation toward
denuclearization."
"I am deeply disappointed, but not
surprised, by the about-face. This is just par for the course for an
administration that has a demonstrated record of misleading Congress and
disregarding U.S. national security," Kyl said.
During the Feb. 23-24 talks, the U.S. avowed
its recognition of the 1953 Armistice Agreement that effectively
separated North and South Korea and reaffirmed it has no hostile intent
toward Pyongyang.
The State Department added that the U.S. is
prepared to move toward "people-to-people exchanges" in culture,
education and sports and said U.S. sanctions against North Korea "are
not targeted against the livelihood of the DPRK people."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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